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On Thursday, the state utility regulator approved the sale of El Paso Electric to a company closely associated with finance giant JPMorgan Chase, and the El Paso City Council is considering whether to transfer the franchise agreement to the purchasers and under what terms.

This is key. Without the city’s permission, or "franchise," to use public rights of way for wires and poles, the utility cannot operate.

The most important question is whether the proposed purchase by JPMorgan-related IIF US Holdings 2 GP LLC, through Sun Jupiter Holdings LLC, is in the best interest of El Paso ratepayers and the general public.

It is difficult to analyze that question without knowing exactly who would control the new company. That information is crucial because it would make decision-making more transparent and shed light on possible outcomes in the future.

Remember, commitments promised as part of the proposed purchase like keeping the headquarters and maintaining jobs here are only good for 10 and five years, respectively.

After initially denying that JPMorgan is affiliated with IIF, the purchasers admitted in filings with the Texas Public Utility Commission that JPMorgan is a related entity. There are, in fact, very close ties between all the companies associated with the sale, and it appears likely that JPMorgan calls the shots on the bottom line, which is buried under multiple complex ownership structures and financial transactions. While saying they’re going above and beyond by agreeing to "act" as though the entities are affiliated, the purchasers have taken great pains to say they have not acknowledged a legal affiliation.

This is an important distinction and raises red flags. JPMorgan previously has been fined $400 million by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for manipulating energy markets. The PUC is keenly aware of this and has made "ring-fencing," or insulating EPE’s profits and costs from interference by JPMorgan, a condition of its approval.

This is a good step that allows state regulators to provide some protections to ratepayers through their oversight of EPE’s financial transactions. For example, JPMorgan would not be able to siphon money out of an EPE account to pay for an investment elsewhere.

But Public Citizen, a consumer advocacy group that is working at the federal level to have JPMorgan be legally deemed an affiliate by FERC, notes that Texas regulators' purview is limited. According to Public Citizen, the PUC regulates sales to local customers, but the federal government has purview over markets.

JPMorgan, one of the largest commodity traders in the world, buys and sells power. As Public Citizen suggests, one scenario could have JPMorgan buying power from EPE at an artificially low price and selling it to a different market for a huge profit, outside the reach of state regulators. Determining at the federal level that JPMorgan and IIF are legally affiliated would address that potential loophole, which is among many possible in the complex world of energy and commodities transactions.

The community must understand the ownership and control structure before it can determine whether this is in the public interest. The City Council, rightly, also wants to know whether the community would be better off owning the utility and has directed staff to study that issue.

I have joined in the effort at the federal level to determine the facts surrounding ownership and control, because I respect EPE and its role in our community. I want to ensure that the company, its employees, the ratepayers, and the community as a whole are able to control our shared future, not have it dictated by the vagaries of Wall Street.

Until we have definitive answers to these critical questions, the City Council shouldn’t transfer the franchise and the sale shouldn’t be consummated.

José Rodríguez represents Texas Senate District 29, which includes the counties of El Paso, Hudspeth, Culberson, Jeff Davis and Presidio.